Haevey a



(No Model.)

111A. MOYER;

, v VEHICLE BODY: Nb. 364,843. Patented June 14, 1887.

, y d c Z J '1" r I WITNESSES: V INVENTOR! 02. W F4 4 %L w A zg fl' 444WL4WLL ATTORNEYS.

U ITED, STATES PATENT @rrrcs.

HARVE A. MOYER, or SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

VEHICLE-BODY.

QPECIEICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 864,843, dated June 14, 1887.

Application filed November o, 1886.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, HARVEY A. Monte, of Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Bodies, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the class of vehiclebodies which have the end-gate hinged to the bottom thereof, and has special reference to the means for locking said gate in its closed position.

The-object of this invention is to provide simple, convenient, and effective gate'locking devices which shall be adapted for use on the so-called square-cornered bodies having the gate extending across the ends of the straight side boards of the body, and which lockingdevices shall also be of such a shape and in such positions on the gate as to obviate the danger of their catching onto objects coming in contact with them while the gate is in its open position.

The invention consists in anovel construction and combination of catch-plates projecting from the'sides of the interior of the body and having vertical engaging-tongues standing in planes parallel with the sides of the body or at right angles to the gate, and latches pivoted to the inner side of the gate and adapted to reach across the aforesaid engagingtongues at the edges farthest from the gate and terminating with vertical engaging-hooks projecting outward at right angles from the latches, and entering between the tongues of the catchplates and adjacent sides of the body, as hereinafter more fully described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a top plan view of the rear end portion of the vehicle-body embodying my invention. Fig; 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 90 m, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on line 3 3 Fig. 2, showing the gate partly opened.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents the bottom of the vehicle-body; B, the vertical sides thereof, which are straight Serial No. 218,122. (No model.)

I from end to end;and C denotes the gate hinged to the bottom A at the rear end of the body and extending across the ends of the sides 13 B.

b b represent two metallic braces, which are secured to the inner side of the usual two corner-posts, p, of the frame of the body, said braces being formed at their base with horizontally-projecting feet a, by which they rest on the bottom A of the body, and by bolts 6, passing through said feet and into the bottom of the body. The braces b are secured to the latter. The upper ends of the braces are bolted to the posts 9, and terminate with horizontal offset a a, projecting fromthe inner sides of the body, and with vertically-extended tongues a, standing in planes parallel with the sides of the body or at right angles to the gate.

To the inner side of the usual cross-rail,r, on the inner side. of the end-gate, I pivot the latches Z Z, which are adapted to reach across the tongues c c at the edges farthest from the gate, and terminate with books (I, projecting outward at right angles from the latches and entering between the tongues c and adjacent sides of the body.

It will be observed that the free ends of the latches terminate adjacent to the inner side of the gate, and are therefore so shielded that i when the gate is open the danger of the latches catching onto objects coming in contact with them is obviated, and when the gate is closed the engagement of the described latches Z Z with the catch-plates secured to the sides of the body in the manner hereinbefore described securely looks the gate in its closed position, and at the same time forms a cross-tie, which prevents the sides of the body from spreading apart, and by forming the catch-plates integral with the braces b b, which are secured to the bottom in the manner hereinbefore described, said catch-plates are permanently secured in their position.

with the vehicle-body and its hinged end-gate, of latches on the latter engaging catch-plates secured to the body, as I am aware that the same is not new; but

\Vhat I do claim as my invention is 1. The combination, with the vehicle-body I do not claim, broadly, the combination,

and end-gate hinged to the bottom thereof, of too catch-plates secured to the sides of the interior of the body and having vertical engagingtongues standing in planes at right angles to the gate, and latches pivoted on the gate and 5 adapted to reach across the aforesaid tongue at the edges farthest from the gate, and formed with outward-projecting hooks entering between the tongues of the catch-plates and sides of the body, substantially in the manner de- IO scribed.

' 2. The combination, with the vehicle-body and end-gate hinged thereon, of the metallic braces b, secured to the sides and bottom of the interior of the body and terminating with 15 the offsets a and tongues c, and the latches l,

pivoted to the inner side of the gate and terminating with the outward-projecting rightangled hooks d, entering between the tongues c and sides of the body, substantially as described and shown.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and affixed my seal, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State ofNew York, this 4th day of November, 1886.

HARVEY A. MoYEn. [1,. s]

Witnesses:

H. P. DENISON, O. BENDIXON. 

